Populate Outbound Flight: The Darkness Within [THR Populate of Adras]

[Sela Basran]

​

The whole thing unsettled Sela Basran.

She had been in places that were -- for lack of a better word -- creepy, or spooky, or weird. Places where the walls seemed to watch and whisper, where the Force was all around and yet utterly non-responsive. It was like being ignored by a loved one across a table. She could feel the Force there, sense its presence, but something about it felt cold to her.

Stand-offish.

Her eyes traced over the chamber. It felt liminal, somehow.

Her fingers clasped behind her back as she allowed her attention to follow the conversation. She was out of her depth in offering an educated opinion on an artifact of this kind. It resembled nothing she had ever seen. Her gaze leveled on Tatiana Sah and she felt a stab of anxiety as the Knight reached for the artifact. Still, she said nothing, instead watching from the side -- watchful and waiting, prepared to pull the Knight away in case something went wrong.

"Carefully," she whispered, almost to herself.

Corazona von Ascania | Caelian Tane | Luke Montann | Tatiana Sah


​

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

Objective II
Aboard the Vel'serenne | Diplomtich Naboo Vessel
Directly: Aurelian Veruna
Indirectly: Feel free to comm any updates to us! Sela Basran Tatiana Sah

"I am your Voice... your second-in-command, if I may remind you, Your Majesty," Sibylla returned lightly, the corner of her mouth lifting with quiet, knowing amusement even as she used his title delibrately, as one would to tease their significant other by calling them by their title instead of their endearment in private, "As though you do not already share such details with me when it suits you."

And even as he invaded her space once more, there was no denying the way her chin naturally tipped upward as she met the amber of his gaze as she stood her ground.

"You are more than welcome to review my clearances," she added, a faint knowing challenge threading through her tone, a brow arching just slightly before she continued, her attention settling fully on the implications of the artifact. It wasn't long before a slight furrow touched her brow as her thoughts began to churn with careful precision.

"The effects are altered based on the one who holds it?" she repeated, more to herself than to him. Truth be told, that was troubling. It meant they had to be careful with whoever would have their hands on it.

It was then that a sudden thought hit her, her eyes narrowing before they quickly flicked back to Aurelian with a faint, wry edge.

"You have not, I trust, taken it upon yourself to test that theory personally?"

There was just enough dryness in the question to suggest she already suspected the answer.

You would, she mused, giving a small shake of her head, dismissing the thought for now as she refocused.

"No, not a full briefing," Sibylla said as her tone shifted into something more formal once more. "Not until testing has progressed further, I imagine. I only wished to understand where matters presently stand --particularly given the variance in how it appears to affect individuals and its surroundings."

Sibylla's attention briefly lowered to the display, then rose once more to him, her expression twisting into a more thoughtful one.

"And whether those variances suggest something… more." Would it possibly... Sibylla hesitated for a moment before voicing the thought that had begun to take shape.

"Do you suppose," Sibylla asked quietly, "that it might be capable of affecting the Blackwall as well?"

 

[Aurelian Veruna]

Tags: Sibylla Abrantes

Aurelian grinned, entirely too pleased with the shift in her energy. This was the Sibylla he preferred, the one who fought back with a sharp wit rather than sinking into the weight of her family's drama. He let his gaze linger on her, tracing a slow path from her boots back up to those hazel eyes with a look that was far from professional.

"Your Majesty? I do love it when we use our official titles in private," he said, his voice dropping into a playful tone. "As for your clearances, I'll be sure to review every single one of them quite thoroughly tonight." He chuckled at her suspicion regarding his personal involvement with the relic. "I've tested it, yes. I tied up a Jedi and have been practicing on them with the artifact. Very educational." He waited a moment for the inevitable eye roll before flashing a quick, disarming smile to show he was joking.

He straightened up, his tone shifting toward a more grounded honesty. "In truth, when I hold it, the Force-dampening effects seem more prominent. With others, it focuses entirely on the tech. It's a confusing ordeal, but that's why we need more than a sterile lab. If we can get this right, it might be the key to punching a hole straight through the Blackwall or dropping Imperial ships out of the sky without firing a single shot."

The mention of the Blackwall made him pause, his mind already racing through the tactical possibilities of such a weapon. It was a dangerous thought, but danger had never been a deterrent for him. He stepped closer, his smirk returning as he watched her process the implications.

"You're more than welcome to come try it for yourself, my Voice," he offered, his eyes dancing with mischief. "Who knows? Maybe it has a side effect we haven't discovered yet. People might just start confessing all their deepest secrets to you the moment you pick it up. It would certainly make your diplomatic meetings much shorter."

​

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"Observe. Record. You see and feel on levels different from my own."

Cora took a step closer to the strange machine. Nothing happened, but it felt like moving into the glare of a spotlight, or into the den of some ancient, unknowable beast.

She’d stood among countless temples and ruins where the Dark side of the Force had soaked itself into the marrow of the stone and the crust of the earth. Being watched was nothing new, but this wasn’t quite the same feeling as being observed by a malicious entity.

At least, not the ones she’d crossed.

With a slow exhale, Cora let her eyes fall closed. A hand stretched towards the strange artifact, and with it, the Force. Her senses probed gently along the archaic glyphs etched into its surface, testing the machine for a response.

Tatiana Sah Kaia Starchaser Sela Basran Caelian Tane Luke Montann

 

[Kaia Starchaser]

As an explorer, she knew that the known paths were not hers, she was that space in between, the darkness to some, the light to others, the one who was confident where she was. However all the Force feelings here? The darkness, the weight? It was not what she was expecting. Looking over the walls, she saw some words, some left from before.

More feelings. Thoughts of the builders, of love lost, of what was being expected from break. It was giving Kaia pause on if she was actually able to find writings in the Force. She was afraid to reach her hand out. To physically touch.

Random graffiti, but beyond it? Some writings. Describing an artifact, but so many of the adjectives were lost to Kaia. What did these all mean? She closed her eyes, closed into herself from the Force. And looked at them with new eyes.

“There is something here, but I can’t make sense of it. Its… almost hidden.” The rest of the wall was with emotions.

Tatiana Sah Corazona von Ascania Sela Basran

 

[Dominic Praxon]

The word hung between them. I can't. For a moment Dominic said nothing. The disappointment came first, like the quiet snapping of some fragile thread he had not realized he was holding. It wasn't anger. Not directed at her. Not even close. It was the kind of frustration reserved for circumstances too large for either of them to change.

His jaw tightened faintly as he looked away from Quinn, his eyes drifting instead toward the viewport where the vast crimson storms churned endlessly. The malignant world outside seemed almost pleased with her answer, its swirling clouds boiling like an open wound in the void.

Something pressed at the edges of his thoughts again. Merely whisper. Barely suggestion. Of course she cannot leave. She is Sith. You know what they are. The thought slid like oil across the surface of his mind. Fear, became distrust, became revulsion.

The unseen presence around the planet pushed gently at those instincts, urging them forward, urging him to retreat from her, to remember what she was. Dominic felt the pressure. And ignored it.

He did not understand the Force. Not the way his brother did. Not the way his...friends did. But he understood manipulation. And something here wanted him afraid.

His eyes returned to Quinn. She looked smaller somehow now, standing there with the weight of duty and bloodline and fear tightening around her like invisible chains.

I'd lose everything.

Dominic let out a slow breath. The words stirred an older memory loose from somewhere deeper. A polished study on Brentaal. Sunlight pouring through tall windows. His father standing beside the desk with that calm, immovable certainty that had defined the man his entire life.

Your brother has chosen the Jedi Order. Dominic had been younger then. Still hoping for something different. That means House Praxon will require you elsewhere. Someone must tend to the family's responsibilities.

He was expected to forge this path toward power, influence and profit. It was his birthright. He understood her plight. Everything had been decided long before he had been asked.

Dominic swallowed faintly. Different chains to hers, but chains all the same. His gaze softened when it returned to Quinn.

"I understand," he said quietly. The frustration had faded from his voice now, replaced by something earnest. "Even though I do not understand the Force like you do."

His eyes flicked briefly toward the red planet again before returning to her. "Chains are still chains, Quinn." He allowed himself a moment of familiarity, dropping the titles and formality.

The moment he stepped closer to the window the pressure in his mind spiked, that unseen malevolence whispering louder now.

She will betray you.

She will devour you.

Run.

Dominic felt bile creep into the back of his throat. He stepped toward her anyway, slowly...carefully. Until he stood close enough that the faint warmth of her presence pushed back the creeping madness surrounding them. His hand lifted slightly, hesitant for only the briefest moment before gently resting against her forearm. The contact was steady.

His voice lowered. "Listen to me."

There was no senatorial polish left in the words now. No careful diplomacy. Just a man trying to make another human being hear something important. "You say you'd lose everything." His grip tightened just slightly. "I don't believe that."

"But I do believe you would lose the cage." Dominic shook his head faintly, frustration returning, though now it was tangled with something dangerously close to desperation. "The Sith would hunt you? Fine. The Republic protects defectors all the time."

His expression hardened with quiet resolve. "And if the Republic wasn't enough, the Mandalorians would shelter someone with your capabilities in half a heartbeat." He exhaled sharply. "You have options."

His eyes searched hers now, intense but not demanding. "You just haven't allowed yourself to see them."

For a moment he hesitated again. Another thought crept forward. A memory of warm eyes, her stubborn voice. That name he refused to say. The idea that the two of them...the taste of bile rose sharply in his throat. Dominic swallowed it down hard.

This wasn't about that. It couldn't be. His voice softened again.

"I'm not asking you to do it for me. I'm not asking you to do it for anyone else either. But you deserve the chance to decide who you are outside of what they made you."

His hand moved away from her arm, resting at his side once more.

"If you are not free to choose, then you are not free. Rebel against the chains, Quinn."

Quinn Varanin​

 

[Quinn Varanin]

//: Dominic Praxon //:

He was quiet again.

Quinn could feel his mind churning, trying to understand the words she just spoke. Anyone else would have jumped at the chance. To be free of the things that seemed horrible to her. Dominic was the second to see her situation and seek to fix it. Sibylla hinted that maybe she did want the same as well. Quinn tried to understand, trying to figure out what was so tragic about her life at times.

The Sith, the Empire, it was all she knew. Her family was there, people who loved her. Would the Republic love her, too? Would they accept her as easily knowing what vile thing beat instead of a heart?

Maybe?

She knew better, though. The moment she longed to reach for this lifeline, the heat from the flames of her past intensified. She could hear the modulated voice in the back of her head. It shouted, called her vile, demanded her death, screamed for the Sun's blessing… for Ashla to protect.

It wanted to cleanse…

She wanted it too…

He exhaled. Quinn could feel the chill of his breath crawling up the nape of her neck. She hated that reaction; she hated how that was how he chose to end his silence.

She didn't look at him; she kept her eyes glued to anything but his face. He spoke with an understanding, but really, a lack thereof. She knew it wasn't just about the Force, but it was the easiest scapegoat. Quinn was okay with this understanding; it could settle between them, and they could continue on with what they needed to. She wanted to change the subject to work — the equal playing field.

Instead…

He said her name.

Her eyes flickered to his. She saw the way he looked at her…

Don't look at me like that…

He said her name, familiarity…

Don't say my name like that…

He stepped closer…

Stay back…

Her eyes moved from his face to the rise of his arm, the reach towards her…

Don't touch me… Don't touch me…

The feel of calloused hands caressed along every stretch of her skin. She could feel them, fingertips pressing into her flesh, pulling at her. The touch, invasive, not his alone, but many others. The caress of her jaw, the tilt of her head, the ownership in the hold at her waist.

Please... Don't...

All of it blended into that one touch that was meant to comfort, but all it did was remind her of them, the ones that touched without permission, who wanted everything from her.

Dominic was no longer there, he was no longer the senator, he was a noble, a councilor, a man wanting something that he could not have — but demanded it.

She froze like she did back then. The gentle melody of a song meant for celebration, eerily played in the back of her mind. Heavy breaths echoed against her ear and danced along her flesh. She could smell him again, the cedarwood and wealth, which filled all of her senses.

Quinn wanted to pull away, but she didn't. All she could do was look back at Dominic, her eyes betraying the sight that she saw.

Fear.

His voice cut in; the images faded as she quickly turned her head. Tears.
Tears welled in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She pleaded with the Force to let him assume all of this was something else; please let him think it was because of the chains that bound her to her own existence.

It was easier that way.

Composure began to return to her after she exhaled deeply. The mask fell carefully into place once more, her mind doing its best to push back whatever had allowed those dark memories to surface.

She didn't pull away; she remained.

"You remind me of someone… She spoke pretty words too, eloquent ones that made me believe it was possible." She huffed lightly as she kept her gaze from him. Too afraid to see a face that wasn't his.

Quinn let her thoughts linger on the Mandalorians. His assumptions were interesting.

"My mother has never treated me like a caged bird; in reality, she protected me from those who wanted to hurt me…" She mused over this. While she often did feel trapped, it wasn't because of the Sith, not because of her Mother, not anything, but because of what she was created with.

But she couldn't tell him that…

That secret was too precious…

Too dangerous…

"This cage you speak of is one not of my choice and not of hers, but of one created by those who do not understand anything beyond the tip of their nose. Because I grew up… a Sith Princess, the daughter of an Empress… I'm inherently evil, I'm meant to harm and to destroy…"

She shook her head lightly, "Like I told Sibylla… I want to coexist… I want stability for all nations, I don't want us to be forced to pick a side, light or dark… it creates an impossible barrier that isn't fair…"

His touch continued to burn on her arm. She wanted to pull away, but felt it would ruin whatever they'd built. She needed someone to trust her; if Dominic could look past the legacy, maybe others could too.

"Your words are nice, Dominic Praxon, but what I am and the chains that bind me are far beyond the understanding of both of us… As much as I want to be free, these chains are my existence."

Her words were cryptic, but it was the best she could do to explain.

"Trust me, if there was even a choice… I'd rip them off as quickly for myself… and for—" She caught herself, she swallowed her words as she forced a tight smile.

"Frivolous dreams are just that, but how are you doing? You seem to be faring better now?"